


Bi the Way

by Creative_Oasis, FanFicAddict7



Series: The Purple Quartet [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Asexual Character, Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Awkwardness, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Male Character, F/M, Gay Keith (Voltron), Gay Male Character, M/M, Roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-12 01:32:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12948432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Creative_Oasis/pseuds/Creative_Oasis, https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanFicAddict7/pseuds/FanFicAddict7
Summary: Keith decides to go for his dream, with some prodding from his brother Shiro. But what he finds at college isn’t what he expected.Lance always goes for gold, despite his insecurities. But sometimes gold is disguised as a pink, purple, and blue flag.





	1. Prologue

**Keith’s POV:**

Keith groaned staring at his college application. He had three months left to decide but he still had no clue where he wanted to go.

“You doing ok in here?” his brother asked. It wasn't uncommon for Shiro to visit on the weekends, his apartment wasn't that far from the house.

“No, I still don't know what I’m doing”

“Look,” The much larger male moved, taking up the space next to Keith, “the question you're asking is ‘what would mom and dad want?’” In one fluid motion Keith was upside down hanging off Shiro`s shoulders.

“TAKASHI!” Keith yelled causing Laughter to bubble up.

“Look at it from a new angle ‘what do YOU want to do?’”

After regaining his bearings Keith looked around the room eyes landing on his guitar. It's not that he was bad at it. Rather the opposite really,and he enjoyed playing. But when the teacher had told him he had nowhere left to go with it, and others that a young Korean boy from “middle of nowhere” Arizona could never make it in the music world? Keith had dropped classes and only played on occasion rendering him rusty. It was based on these “facts” that Keith had skipped placing the Garrison on his list, but here, upside down it seemed like his only option.

“Music,” he said softly, “I want to play music.” That was enough for Shiro to let him down. Rolling onto the floor, he started thinking.

Tilting his head, Shiro prompted him to speak.

“I know that face.” Keith hummed.

“I just I'm not sure how to get in or what they require or how good I have to play!” A reassuring hand was placed on his shoulder as he started to panic.

“I can help you,” His older brother somehow always had the ability to calm him. “I mean, I got in right?” Shiro asked rubbing his hand across his neck. Keith nodded.

“And now you're a teacher so you can just tell them to let me in.”

“Not sure that's how it works, bro.” His next four weeks were spent practicing with Shiro for the entrance exams. When he felt ready, he sent in an application. Another two weeks passed before receiving an email. They would grant him an audition. Needless to say keith blew them out of the water, after countless hours of practice, and received his acceptance letter only three weeks later.

“Come on come on come on!” Keith repeated like a mantra until the older male looked up from his work to answer Keith's calls.

“What`s up?” he asked as he answered the phone .

“I did it, I got in! I made it,” the new college student explained. “Thank you, Shiro” was muttered into the phone.

All he got in response was a light chuckle and “It was all you, remember Patience Yields Focus”

About a month later, he arrived for orientation, a single bag of belongings thrown over his shoulder.

~•~

**Lance’s POV:**

Lance never really had much of a solid plan, just a set of dreams he was sure he’d achieve. He had applied to only the best schools in the country, confident he’d be able to get in with no problem.

“Are you sure you don’t want a back up school? I got a few backups selected.”

“Yeah, but Hunk, this is me we’re talking about. I’ll get in on charm alone.”

“If you say so,” came out through a mouthful of chips. “What are you going to be anyway?”

“I told you, I want to be a dancer. Best job in the world. What are you studying again? Engineering?”

“Yup. Safest job and enjoyable.”

“And.....DONE!! No way they can deny my application now.” Lance had covered his application with photos of himself in varying poses.

“Whatever floats your boat, man. Now that you’re finally done, want to get something to eat with my friend Pidge and me? We are gonna try that new Barbeque joint downtown.”

“Sure, sounds good. But only if you’re paying. I’m still broke as a joke.” Lance flashed his signature smirk.

“Uuuuugggghhh, dude, you’re killing me,” Hunk sighed dramatically. “I guess I’ll pay for your food. Now hurry up. I’m starving.”

While Hunk wasn’t looking, Lance hit “submit” on several applications to community colleges.

“Alright, I’m ready to go. Let’s devour the restaurant.” The next few weeks, while waiting for letters was the most tense Lance had ever been. What if he didn’t get into any school? What if he couldn’t go and Hunk got too busy at college and he didn’t have friends anymore? What if no one wanted him?

Finally the letters started coming in. Lance refused to open any of them until the letter from his top choice came in.

“HUNK, HUNK!!” Lace was yelling into the receiver as he called his best friend.

“Man, you are going to be why my moms will have to get me hearing aids. Anyway, what’s up?”

“I did it, dude. I got into the Garrison into the dance program!”

A week later he arrived for orientation.


	2. 1) Mullets? Power Ranger Boxers? Embarrassing Moments?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Lance and Keith go to move in to their dorm, but sometimes first impressions just suck

**Lance’s P.O.V.**

“Dude, aren’t you supposed to be helping?” Lance threw a pillow at his friend Hunk, who had decided that laying on the bed was a great way to help his friend unpack.

“I am helping. I’m supervising, making sure your pile of dirty clothes doesn’t eat you. Also, how do you already have dirty clothes? We haven’t even finished moving in.” Lance only shrugged, going back to dumping boxes on his half of the room.

“So, what do you think your roommate will be like?”

“I don’t know, man. What if he snores?”

“You snore.”

“What if he’s messy.”

“Dude, have you looked at the room?”

“What if he has a mullet?”

“What’s wrong with mullets?” Lance whirled around, spraying clothes all over the room, planting pair of crusty boxers onto the face of the stranger in the doorway. “Classy,” shot the stranger as he peeled the dirty laundry off his face. “And you thought I was going to be the messy one?”

“How-how long have you been standing there?” Lance could feel the heat rising in his face.

“Long enough,” smirked the stranger. “I’m guessing you’re Lance McClain?”

“Yeah, I am. And you are?”

“Keith Kogane. Didn’t you check your roommate listing?” Keith had thrown his bag on his bed and turned back to face them “Oh, and you should probably clean this up before an RA comes around.” And with that, a stunned Lance watched an almost not ugly, but still definitely ugly mullet walk away. The only sound left in the room was the blood rushing to Lance’s face and Hunk’s snickering at the whole situation.

“You okay, man?” Hunk spoke through the end of his laughing fit.

“It’s my first day of college and I’ve already managed to make my roommate hate me.” Lance groaned dramatically as he walked over to flop on his bed.

“He probably doesn’t hate you that much. Look, sure that was embarrassing, but you’ve got all week to create a better impression. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Besides, he was right, you should clean this up before an RA comes by.”

“Think you can help me clean?”

“Sorry man, but I’m not going near your dirty clothes. It’s nightmare worthy.”

“But you said you’d help me!”

“Yeah, before you dumped all your stuff on the floor, dude. But anyway, that reminds me, I gotta move my stuff into my apartment and probably help Pidge.”

“How old is he anyway?” Lance inquired. 

“Who?”

“Pidge, how old is he?” Lance sat up on his bed, wanting to face Hunk as he spoke.

“Lance, Pidge is a she, not a he,” Hunk explained.

“What? No. I was certain Pidge was a dude when we went to lunch.” Lance looked beyond shocked, eyes as wide as physically possible.

“No, man, Pidge is a chick. She’s like 3 years younger than us.” Lance didn’t seem to be able to formulate a response after that, so Hunk left to unpack, leaving the cookies he brought for Lance to snack on. Cookies were Lance’s ultimate comfort food. “Bye man” The rest of Lance’s afternoon was spent sorting which clothes were clean, before he fell asleep playing his handheld. Only when he had been woken up by Keith’s late arrival had he realized not only had he fallen asleep, but he hadn’t seen Hunk again all day

 **Keith`S P.O.V**.

Looking down at his registration papers, then up at the numbers on the wall, Keith was about ready to call himself officially lost. Upon hearing an obnoxious voice, he spun around on the spot. He quickly spotted his dorm number on the wall next to an open door.

“Oh, thank god,” he sighed in relief. Picking up the bag he had ditched on the floor he took two steps forward stopping in the doorway.

“I don’t know, man. What if he snores?”

“You snore.”

“What if he’s messy.”

“Dude, have you looked at the room?” Reaching the conclusion the two boys in front of him were discussing potential roommates Keith leaned against the door frame to listen.

“What if he has a mullet?”

NOPE, that was the final straw.

“What's wrong with mullets?” Who Keith assumed to be Lance whipped around, unintentionally flinging boxers in Keith's face. It took Keith a solid two seconds to calm the raging blush creeping up his neck. Peeling the blue Power Ranger boxers off his face, he said the first thing to come to mind.

“Classy,” he muttered with a grimace, “And you thought I was going to be the messy one?” The lanky boy started sputtering.

“How-how long have you been there?” Keith didn't want to admit he had heard the whole roommate conversation so he muttered “Long enough,” and tried to change the topic.

“I'm guessing you're Lance McClain?”

“Yeah, I am,” he confirmed, “and you are?”

“Keith Kogane. Didn't you check your roommate listing?” Keith hadn't meant to sound rude, honestly, he didn't. “Oh, and you should probably clean this up before an RA comes around.” After tossing his bag on the empty bed to be dealt with later, Keith fled the room to seek Shiro in his embarrassment.

What should have taken Keith only 15 minutes had taken him half an hour. First, he had tried texting Shiro, and when he failed to answer, Keith had gone to his classroom. Another dead end. He stood there for a minute trying to figure out where to go before smacking himself on the head.

“His apartment!” Keith had promptly returned to the dorm parking lot to obtain his bike. It had been a gift for his 18th birthday from his foster parents, and it got him to Shiro`s in a quick 15 minutes. Now that he was here, he knew exactly where to go.

Keith made his way up the stairs and started down the hall. His ears perked up at the sound of arguing voices through an open door reminiscent of how he had found Lance and Hunk.

“Don`t touch my stuff! Yeah, sorry, but what if you..” the young voice alternated between what seemed like instructions and an angry child who didn`t want to share their toys. “LAST CHANCE HUNK!” The phrase was yelled just as Keith stepped past. He couldn't help taking a gance to confirm his current worst fear. “Hunk” turned out to be the friend of his new roommate, whose boxers he’d just been wearing as a face mask. And of course he would be Shiro’s neighbor.

Keith froze, contemplating how to get to his brother’s room without being noticed, wanting to save himself from further humiliation. He decided on running past the door as quietly as possible; they seemed somewhat preoccupied anyway. He made it safely to Shiro's door and didn't even bother to knock before barging in. Once in the safety of his brother’s room, Keith slammed the door before resting on it as he was greeted by confused looks from Shiro and Matt.

“Everything good?” Shiro cocked an eyebrow as he posed his question.

“Yeah. Yup. Perfectly fine. I only just had to run to your door to avoid your neighbors, but that’s only the second worst thing to happen today,” Keith ranted, sliding down against the door, exasperated.

“Second worst,” Matt inquired, urging Keith to continue.

“Yeah, so I had to check into my dorm today, right? Well, turns out my roommate is loud, slightly obnoxious, and flings his boxers all over the place, including onto my face.” Keith’s hands covered his face as though it some how erased the fact that Lance’s boxers had been there not even an hour ago. Shiro and Matt hadn't moved from their spots on the couch but both were watching keith. Neither had bothered to pause the TV program or put down their popcorn.

“So, you started your college experience with boxers on your face?” Matt was chuckling. “So were they rubber ducks or hearts?”

“Power Ranger,” mumbled Keith, hiding his hands in his face as he blushed violently.

“What was that, little brother? Matt and I couldn’t hear you.” Shiro was smirking alongside his friend.

“POWER RANGER! The boxers were blue Power Ranger,” Keith shouted as his blush deepened and he sank lower, nearly laying on the floor.

“So I take it that you are going to be storing your red Power Ranger boxers here?” Keith glared at Shiro's joke. The older male had been right in his assumption though.

“Shut up.” Keith stood up and walked through to the kitchen.

“You two are unbelievable,” Keith said in awe upon seeing the mess of a kitchen. Popcorn packets littered the counter and two empty pizza boxes lay empty on the counter. The microwave was smoking and Keith was surprised the fire alarm hadn't gone off.

“What?” Matt asked innocently Keith just shook his head from the doorway and began cleaning up. Grabbing a fist full of popcorn he plopped down next to Shiro.

“Whatcha watchin?” They ended up watching That 70’s Show until late. Eventually, Matt stood up.

“I've got a project I'm working on tomorrow so I gotta hit the hay.”

“Good night,” Shiro offered.

“Night,” Keith echoed, eyes following Matt's movements.

“So,” Shiro began, “I know your first meeting didn't go to well but try to get along with your roommate.”

“He threw boxers at me!” Shiro raised an eyebrow skeptically at Keith`s quick fire response. 

“And you have no plans of revenge? Just promise me you'll at least attempt to be friends?” Keith feigned offence but nodded.

“Yeah, sure, whatever”

“Ok, I've got classes to plan in the morning; are you going to stay here tonight?” It was a reasonable offer, something Keith had done multiple times in the past but this time it sounded like a challenge. Keith was proud and if Shiro was going to challenge him who was he to back down. That or Keith was reading way too far into this.

“No, I can go back to my dorm.” Keith was just praying that Lance was asleep. Shiro raised an eyebrow at Keith's defensive tone.

“Okay. Just be careful getting back It`s...” Keith cut Shiro's worry off with what he hoped to be a nonchalant wave.

“I know, I know ‘it's dark out and riding my bike will be dangerous.’ I`ve heard your lecture 1,000 times.”

“But it still applies.”

“I'm walking out the door, Shiro.” “Keith, I'm serious.”

“Bye.” The last thing Shiro saw before the door shut was Keith's waving hand.


	3. 2) I Swear, They Aren't Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first night may have been rocky, but do they want a hateful relationship or will things get better?

**Keith’s POV**

Keith reached his dorm with significantly less problems this time. He fumbled with the keys for a second but finally got his door open relatively quietly.

Keith was surprised to find his roommate awake at the odd hour.

In his shock he said the first thing to come to mind

“You didn't have to wait up for me.”

Lance snapped back quickly.

“What a relief, since I didn’t wait up for your emo ass, McMullet. I do have a life, you know?”

Keith winced, dammit of course he hadn't been up for him what was he thinking.

 

“Ok, that entire statement was rife with inaccuracy. I’m not emo, my hair isn’t actually a mullet, and based on the video game in your hand, you don’t actually have a life.” Oh god what was he saying?

“Though I am surprised you managed to clean up the room. Thought I’d come home to more dirty underwear.” No, seriously, someone shut Keith up!

 

“Oh, screw you, Kogane. I do stuff besides play video games.” The handheld found its way to the table anyway.

“And I know how to clean, thank you very much. I don’t need to take your bullshit. And you definitely have a mullet, Black Parade.”

Black Parade? Lance really knew how to press Keith's buttons. Not that Keith would admit that aloud of course.

“Like what? Throwing your boxers all over the place, Power Ranger,” Keith shot definitely not noticing the flush spreading up the tan boy’s face.

 

“You know what? If you insist on having a damn stick up your ass, then you can stay on your side of the room.”

Keith's eyes widened at Lance's harsh tone. He hadn't meant to offend Lance but the attractive male had already snatched his phone, flipping to face the wall.

Wait, attractive? Where the hell did that come from?

“Yeah whatever” Keith muttered moving his bag off the bed. He would unpack tomorrow, for now he laid down in his clothes to lazy to change after making his bed. He closed his eyes trying to sleep when a sigh erupted from the other side of the room quickly followed by three more.

 

“Jesus Christ, McClain. Some of us are trying to sleep and your obnoxious sighing over whatever girl you are disappointing over the phone is keeping me awake,”

Keith huffed.

He could practically feel Lance’s glare from across the small room, but he finally fell asleep.

He woke up to the sun in the window; a quick glance around the room told him Lance was gone. He yawned, stretching out his arms. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes to get a clearer image.  

He was surprised to find a plate of Brown Sugar Pastries sitting next to his phone. He glanced once more at Lance's bed, had they been left for him? No. Lance hated him, he wouldn't, would he?

Keith shook his head and got up. Leaving the pastries he moved to unpack his stuff, Lance probably just forgot to eat them on his way out.

That begs the question though.

“Where is he?” Keith said aloud.

 

Keith dumped his belongings on the bed and set his playlist going. Slowly but surely he started dancing around the room as he folded clothes.

Keith stored away his camera but, when he went to hang the fairy lights one particular spin had led him straight into the trash can Lance had set up. It's contents spilled onto the floor in disarray.

“Shit!”

Keith bent down to pick up the mess. There wasn't much to be found in there just a crumpled orientation letter and-

“Oh whats this?”

The “this” Keith was speaking of was a crumpled note reading.

“Sorry for being such an asshole. Here’s brown sugar pastries. They’re my favorite so I hope you like them. See ya later, roomie.”

“Oh my god” keith laughed “this is his attempt at an apology!” Keith sat back considering it.

Standing up he caught sight of the sugar pastries again. Shrugging he grabbed one and ate it.

“Not bad,” he mused to himself wiping his hands of crumbs. He grabbed a pen out of his desk and wrote on the back of Lance’s note.

“Thanks, they weren't half bad. But don’t think I’m going to forget about the Power Rangers. Apology accepted, I guess, see ya,” As Keith stared at the note he had wrote, he suddenly understood why Lance had felt the desire to throw it away. Keith ate the other pastry as he finished unpacking.

Not long after he was done his phone buzzed.

 

S: Hey Matt’s little sister finally has some free time so they're gonna go out we are invited if you would like to come

 

K: 1 ya text like a dad

 

K: 2 I have nothing better to do where am I meeting you

 

S: Do you know where “Alluring Cafè” is?

 

K: ya be there in 10

 

Making sure to grab his keys, Keith made his way out leaving the note resting on Lance’s night stand.

 

**Lance’s POV**

 

Lance bolted up as he heard someone fiddle with the lock on the door. Grabbing his fallen handheld, he adjusted so he was sitting in a proper upright position on his bed.

 

“You didn’t have to wait up for me.” Keith entered the room.

 

“What a relief, since I didn’t wait up for your emo ass, McMullet. I do have a life, you know?”

 

“Ok, that entire statement was rife with inaccuracy. I’m not emo, my hair isn’t actually a mullet, and based on the video game in your hand, you don’t actually have a life. Though I am surprised you managed to clean up the room. Thought I’d come home to more dirty underwear.” Lance didn’t know how to take that.

 

“Oh, screw you, Kogane. I do stuff besides play video games. And I know how to clean, thank you very much. I don’t need to take your bullshit. And you definitely have a mullet, Black Parade.”

 

“Like what? Throwing your boxers all over the place, Power Ranger,” Keith shot back.

 

“You know what? If you insist on having a damn stick up your ass, then you can stay on your side of the room.” Lance threw a glare at Keith before turning over to text Hunk.

 

L: kms

H: ???

L: why am I like this? Why is he like this? Why is everything like this?

H: what happened, man?

L: EVERYTHING

H: ok, what happened this particular time?

L: he made some comment about how I didn’t have to wait up

L: and me being me

L: I said something stupid and now he hates me.

L: Hunk I have to live with him the rest of the year and now he hates me

L: uuugggghhhh

H: ok first, you already have my attention. You don’t need to spam me. And I’m sure he doesn’t hate you.

 

“Jesus Christ, McClain. Some of us are trying to sleep and your obnoxious sighing over whatever girl you are disappointing over the phone is keeping me awake,” Keith shot across the dark room.

 

Lance woke early the next morning. Between growing up in a big household and working from a young age, he was used to waking up before others in order to get a shower. He readied himself for his shift at the local coffee shop and grabs a quick breakfast on his way out.

 

Before leaving, Lance paused. After some thought, he pulled out an extra pack of his favorite toaster pastries, and a notepad and pen.

 

“Sorry for being such an asshole. Here’s brown sugar pastries. They’re my favorite so I hope you like them. See ya later, roomie.”

 

He read it again, realizing how stupid and desperate he sounded, and threw it away instead, just leaving the peace offering on the bedside table for his roommate to find when he woke up.

 

“Hunk, my man, what can I get you? The usual?” Hunk nodded, handing over money.

 

“So, What was with the dramatics last night?” Hunk cut right to the chase.

 

“So Keith came in late last night, said something like I didn’t have to wait up for him. So I said I didn’t and I had a life. There may have been some name calling and me telling him to stay on his side of the room.” Lance spoke quickly, his words running together.

 

“May have or definitely was?” Hunk raised an eyebrow at his friend.

 

“Definitely was,” Lance mumbled. “But I left him the last pack of my brown sugar pop tarts. That’s gotta count for something, right?” Lance groaned thinking back to last night and the note he threw away this morning. “Man, this year is gonna suck if my roommate hates me. Why does he make me so irritated? Huuuuunk, what am I gonna doooooooo?”

 

“Chill, man. You left apology food. Maybe he will accept it. But you gotta stop stressing out over this stuff, you have enough to worry about with work and classes.”

 

“True.”

 

“As riveting as your personal life is, I’d like to place my order please!” The customer at the counter seemed irritated and Lance hoped they wouldn’t complain to his boss. He really needed this job.


	4. Sometimes Broken Dishes are a Good Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith might be a little distracted and lance was not paying attention either. The results might be good though?

Lance

Lance was grumbling as he bussed a freshly emptied tabled. They were a busboy short, so Lance had to pick up extra duties. Just as he picked up the bin of plates, he felt something hit him, and next thing he knew, he was on the floor along with all the food and dishes he had been holding. 

“What the hell, man!” Lance hadn’t meant to shout, but also hadn’t meant to end up on the floor covered in half eaten chicken either.

“Wha...I uh-“ Wait, Lance knew that voice. 

“Oh my god, Keith?” All animosity was gone from his voice. “Are you okay?”

“Lance?” Keith asked, his eyes still closed.

“Keith, Keith? Oh my god! Hunk, come help me, I think he’s dying!” What a great way to start the semester, Lance thought, killing his roommate.

The table nearby and Hunk were hovering over the two men, concerned etched into their faces.

“I’m not dying. Stop being over dramatic, I just hit my head.” Keith finally opened his eyes, what Lance saw as a good sign.

“Yo, man, What just happened?” Pidge adjusted her glasses.

“Keith just ran into Lance,” Hunk answered before Lance had a chance to.

“Woah, woah,” cut in one of the older guys who had previously been at the table, “I think both of you were just not paying attention.” Lance opened his mouth, about to take the blame. “Now, are the two of you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” sighed Keith.

“Me too.” Lance felt shooken up as he ran his fingers through the knots in his hair.

“Lance, you’re bleeding!” Keith’s proclamation startled Lance as he felt his arm being grabbed. Lance started to protest, only to be cut off by the Dark haired guy still on the floor next to him. He was bleeding?

“Oh.” Guess he really was bleeding. Now that he was aware of the blood, he was also aware of how sticky his hands and forehead were.

“Lance?” Lance hadn’t noticed his boss, Allura, come join the group. “What is going on here? Are you alright?” Her British accent made her voice harder to process in his shocked state, but after a beat, he was able to formulate a response.

“Yeah, sorry Allura, I got a little distracted and ran into Keith here.” At least that is what he thought happened.

“No, wait, I ran into him. I didn’t watch where I was going.” Why was Keith covering for him. 

“I’m not entirely sure that’s true...” she started.

“Do you have a first aid kit?” Keith interrupted Allura, and Lance could see the look of concern on his face.

“Yeah, it’s in the back. Go, I’ll clean up here.”

“And I’ll help,” the older guy spoke again.

The group started cleaning and Lance stood, with help from Keith, to go show him where the first aid kit was kept. After Lance gestured to the supplies, he felt a wet cloth on his head. Keith must be cleaning the blood off his forehead. Then, once the blood was cleaned from both his head and hands, he felt the sting of disinfectant on his cuts. 

“I’m sorry, I know this hurts. I’m almost done, though.”

“I’m alright,” Lance managed to say. He was more distracted by the warmth of Keith’s hands around his own.

“Just let me buy you lunch, ok?” Keith was eye level with Lance, a soft look on his face.

 

 

Keith

True to his word Keith was at the Cafe in promptly 10 minute., he hung his helmet on hid handlebars and walked inside, quickly spotting Shiro and Matt sitting at a booth. Pidge was nowhere to be seen but he assumed she was at the table too.   
He started walking towards them, smiling when Shiro spotted him. He sped up, not paying attention to his surroundings after being waved over.  
Suddenly, there was a loud crash and Keith was on the floor sitting in a mess of broken plates and leftover food.

“What the hell, man!” a hostile voice snapped.

“Wha.. I uh” Keith shook his head trying to shake out the dizziness.

“Oh my god, Keith?” the voice didn't sound so aggressive this time, rather, just as shocked as Keith felt. “Are you okay?”   
Keith moaned rubbing the back of his head where it had hit the table-other worried voices had filled the air, but there was something familiar about the first one.

“Lance?” Keith almost prayed he was wrong.

“Keith, Keith? Oh my god!” Keith let out a small moan in response, “Hunk, come help me, I think he's dying!”

“I'm not dying!” Keith grumbled “Stop being over dramatic i just hit my head”

When he opened his eyes he had several worried faces hovering over him.  
Pidge spoke up from just above his head.   
“Yo, man what just happened?”

Hunk answered for them.  
“Keith just ran into Lance,” he accused 

“Woah, woah,” Shiro cut in, “I think both of you were just not paying attention.”  
Keith was thankful for Shiro's ability to bring order to any situation. “Now, are the two of you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah i'm fine,” Keith muttered 

“Me too,” Lance agreed, running a shaky hand through his hair.  
Now it was Keith`s turn to worry when Lance’s hand left red streaks across his forehead.

“Lance, your bleeding!” Keith corrected, snatching the man's hands from the air not giving him time to argue.   
Keith held Lance’s hands, examining them. The cuts appeared worse than they were, blood pooling in his palms. 

“Oh,” Lance said, simply gazing at the wounds he hadn't even noticed in his short panic.  
By this time, the small group had half the cafe`s attention, so it was no wonder when the owner came to investigate the disruption.

“Lance?” Her accent stretched out his name closer to Lonce; it wasn't bad, though and made her sound regal. Like someone destined to take charge.

“What is going on here? Are you alright?”

“Yeah, sorry Allura, I got a little distracted and ran into Keith here.”

“No, wait I ran into him, I didn't watch where I was going” Keith cut in.

Allura`s frown deepened.  
“I'm not entirely sure that's true...” she started.  
“Do you have a first aid kit?” Keith interrupted, finding himself more concerned with Lance than whatever Allura was planning to say.  
“Yeah, it's in the back” she supplied, the stern “mother” look on her face softening   
“Go, I'll clean up here”

“And I'll help” Shiro offered. 

As the rest of the group cleaned up, Lance led Keith to the back room. At Lance's direction, Keith pulled out the emergency kit and a cloth. Keith took a water bottle and wet the cloth. He first cleaned the red streak from the tan boy's forehead. Then moved to his hands. He looked in the box and decided it was a good idea to apply some disinfectant.  
Keith frowned when Lance let out a soft hiss as the spray hit open wounds. 

“I’m sorry, I know this hurts. I’m almost done, though.” Keith murmured grabbing a bandage.

“I’m alright” Lance reassured, but Keith couldn't miss the pain flash across his face.  
“Just let me buy you lunch, ok?” Keith finished wrapping the wounds and looked up to Lance for confirmation.


	5. 4) Some of Us (Lance) Need to Pay More Attention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lunches are had and things progress nicely

**Keith**

  
  


“Yeah sure I mean it's only fair, right?”  Keith smiled when Lance accepted his offer of lunch. He pulled out his wallet to make sure he had money. Frowning at the ten dollar bill he said, “Just don't eat too much.”

 

Lance chuckled but kept to Keith`s request.

 

When they finished the meal, Hunk kindly pointed out that they still had to figure out how Lance was getting home. Keith refused to let him walk by himself, so he reluctantly volunteered to ride home with him on the bus.

 

Shiro would take Keith's bike back to the dorms and Matt and the rest of the group would meet them there with the older man's car.

When they finally reached Keith and Lance`s shared dorm, Keith let Shiro in to inspect.

 

“So this is the room,” Shiro mused looking around.

“Yup this is it,” Lance replied a proud smile on his face. Behind him, Keith frowned and shook his head attempting to stop Shiro, seeing what was coming.

 

“Where the fabled ‘Power Ranger boxers’ took to the air,” Shiro added throwing a smirk at Keith. The young man had turned firetruck red.

 

“THANK YOU, SHIRO,” Keith yelped shoving him out the door. “Wow, look at the time, best you leave now before Matt gets worried.” 

 

Unfortunately, Keith was not fast enough to save himself from Shiro's final comment,

“Don`t worry too much Lance, Keith was rather fond of the Red Ranger himself, his pair is at my house, though.”

 

Keith groaned, sliding to the floor as he slammed the door behind his brother. 

 

“Not a fucking word I swear.”

 

A few weeks later Keith was struggling to find a muse for his most recent assignment. Keith decided that it was his photography professors own personal joy to see him suffer.

 

“What does “true beauty” even mean!” Keith grumbled to himself as he walked around the wide park, searching for that very answer.

 

Keith was nearing his limit. About ready to give up he started packing up his camera, carefully placing it in the bag. Just as he was ready to go his ring tone sounded. 

 

Fumbling to pull his phone out of his pocket Keith glanced at the glowing screen.

 

“Lance? What could he want?” Keith asked aloud. 

 

One way to find out.

 

“Hello?” 

 

“Keith?” Lance's voice sounded muffled after being filtered through the phone speaker. “Hello, hey!”

 

Keith frowned it was unlike Lance to sound almost ..relieved to hear Keith.

 

“Hey? Are you ok? It sounds loud, I thought you were at dance?”

 

“Aww worried about me Keithy boy?” Keith could almost hear Lance's smirk dancing across his smug face.

 

“Shut up, what do you want?” Keith asked suspiciously. 

 

Lance gave an indignant scoff but quickly quieted down.

 

“I ..might need ..a ride” Keith blinked 

 

“What?” 

 

“I need a ride home. Hunk can’t pick me up from dance and I think I left my bus card at home. I was hoping you could pick me up,” 

 

“Alright, Alright, I’ll come pick you up. Where’s the studio, again?” Keith sighed and started pulling his helmet on.

 

“On 8th Street.” Lance said the “duh” tone of his voice shone through, but now that he had said it Keith remembered a previous conversation about it.

 

“Right, right. Ok, I’ll be there in a bit.” Leaving no room for further conversation Keith hung up and his engine revved to life.

 

When he arrived at Altea Studios he parked his bike and grabbed his camera. It was too expensive to leave just anywhere.

When he walked in a rather eccentric man pointed him to where Lance was supposed to be waiting. When Keith walked into the room Lance was too absorbed in the moves he was working on to notice Keith.

 

Keith was about ready it interrupt the lanky man when he suddenly executed a perfect spin leap thing. Hell if Keith knew what it called but it was beautiful.

 

Beautiful! That was it! True Beauty! 

 

Keith raised his camera to his eye and snapped quite a few good pictures until he felt it was starting to reach stalker level. He flipped through them making sure he got good shots. Placing the lens cap back on, he tapped Lance on the shoulder.

 

“Hey, fancy feet, you ready to go?” Lance whipped around, shocked.

 

“Holy shit. Didn’t see you come in.” 

 

“Well, I’m here. Let’s go home.” 

  
  


**Lance**

 

Lance accepted Keith’s offer for lunch, reassuring him that it was Indeed a fair trade. Lance saw Keith's face turn down as he looked in his wallet and chortled a bit when asked not to eat too much. Lance had been there before and understood not having a lot of pocket money. 

 

It was Hunk who pointed out that Lance still had to make it home. After some deliberation, it was decided that Hunk, Pidge, and Matt would ride in the car, following Shiro on Keith’s motorcycle, and Keith would take the bus with Lance. Lance insisted he was fine but he guessed Keith felt bad about his hands.

 

“So, this is the room,” Shiro bemused after Keith had let him in.

 

“Yep, this is it.” Lance was quite pleased with how well they had managed to clean up their room, especially after how terrible it looked from Lance “unpacking.” Why was Keith shaking his head like that?

 

“Where the fabled ‘Power Ranger Boxers’ took to the air,” Shiro continued. Lance’s face felt about as hot as Keith’s looked.

 

“THANK YOU, SHIRO,” Keith practically screamed. “Wow, look at the time, best you leave before Matt gets worried. Keith was now attempting to shove Shiro out of the apartment as Lance stood there, mortified.

 

“Don`t worry too much Lance, Keith was rather fond of the Red Ranger himself his pair is at my house though.” The door slammed behind Shiro and Lance watched Keith slide to the floor, a defeated look on his face.

 

“Not a fucking word, I swear.” Lance just blinked back at Keith. He wouldn’t know what to say anyway.

 

~*~

 

Lance walked outside of the dance studio, looking for Hunk’s car, but was soon cut off by his phone ringing.

 

“Howdy hey, Hunk,” Lance began as he accepted the phone call.

 

“Hey, I know I’m supposed to pick you up today, but work just called and I have to go in since Shay called out sick.” Lance could hear the apologetic tone is Hunk’s voice. 

 

“Hey, no problem. I have my bus pass, I’ll be fine. The kids need you, Hunk,” Lance chuckled with the last sentence, said his goodbyes and began looking through his bag for his bus card. “Shit,” he whispered under his breath. He probably left it on his bedside table, unable to find it in his bag. The one day he didn’t have a ride home from dance, he would forget his card. 

 

Maybe...maybe he could call Keith. He didn’t really have any other friends in the area who could pick him up. 

 

Hello?” Lance heard Keith’s voice filter through his earphones.

 

“Keith?” Thank the heavens. “Hello, hey!” It felt like a physical weight was lifted from Lance’s chest.

 

“Hey? Are you ok? It sounds loud, I thought you were at dance?” Keith sounded almost concerned.

 

“Aww worried about me Keithy boy?” Lance could feel a smirk cross his face.

 

“Shut up, what do you want?” Lance huffed but also didn’t want to upset his one possible way home.

 

“I ..might need ..a ride,” Lance held his breath as he waited for Keith’s answer.

 

“What?”

 

“I need a ride home. Hunk can’t pick me up from dance and I think I left my bus card at home. I was hoping you could pick me up,” Lance let out all in what seemed like one breath.

 

“Alright, Alright, I’ll come pick you up. Where’s the studio, again?” Lance could hear Keith rustling around. 

 

“On 8th Street.”

 

“Right, right. Ok, I’ll be there in a bit.” Lance heard a click as Keith hung up unceremoniously. 

 

Putting his other earbud in, Lance put on the version of “Bailando” he was trying to choreograph to. Experimenting with different combinations, he soon found himself lost in the movements and music. A tap on his shoulder caused Lance to jump about a foot off the ground.

 

“Hey, fancy feet, you ready to go?” Keith was standing there, smirk on his face and camera around his neck.

 

“Holy shit. Didn’t see you come in.”

 

“Well, I’m here. Let’s go home.”

 


End file.
